Secondary Bible Themes 6 - Kingdom of Heaven, God's House

Here is a list of themes in the Bible. On of them is the Kingdom of Heaven, God's House.

He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."  -Matthew 13:52

Jesus Established His Kingdom Within the Faithful

But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. -Matthew 12:28

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  -Matthew 16:19

nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." -Luke 17:21

And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,  -Luke 22:29

We Should Seek His Kingdom, Serve It, and Preach It

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. -Matthew 6:33

Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.  -Acts 28:31

"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."  -Luke 18:29-30

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.  -Matthew 11:12

The Heavenly Kingdom

I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  -Matthew 8:11

Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."  -Luke 23:42-43

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."   -John 18:36

It is Eternal

But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever-yes, for ever and ever.'  -Daniel 7:18

…his kingdom will never end."  -Luke 1:33b

The Kingdom Will Come to the World in the End

"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.  -Daniel 2:44

your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  -Matthew 6:10

and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  -Matthew 3:2

Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.  -Mark 15:43

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.  -Matthew 24:14

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, … Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. "It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. -Luke 17:20-29

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."  -Revelation 11:15

Other Details

How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.  -Daniel 4:3

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.  -Luke 11:17

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.  -1 Corinthians 4:20

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe  -Hebrews 12:28

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,  -Romans 14:17

Who Gets In and Who Does Not

strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.  -Acts 14:22

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  -Galatians 5: 19-21

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God  -Ephesians 5:5

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is [Some manuscripts is for those who trust in riches] to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  -Mark 10:23-25

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  -Matthew 18:1-4

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. -1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." -Matthew 19:14

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.  -Matthew 23:13

Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.  -Matthew 5:19-20

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  -Matthew 5:3

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 5:10

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."  -John 3:3

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  -John 3:5

He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good bye to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."  -Luke 9:59-62

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'  -Matthew 7:21-23

For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."  -Matthew 19:12

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  -1 Corinthians 15:50-52

The Kingdom of heaven Is like…

New and Old Treasures

“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” -Matthew 13

Unmerciful Servant

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.  "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of ours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."  -Matthew 18

Workers in the Vineyard

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' " 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.' "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'  -Matthew 20

Two Sons

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. -Matthew 21

Wedding Banquet

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' "But they paid no attention and went off--one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  -Matthew 22

Ten Virgins

"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' " 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.  -Matthew 25

The Great Banquet

"A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' " 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.  -Luke 14

Secondary Bible Themes 5 - Wisdom, Knowledge

Here is a list of themes in the Bible. One of them is Knowledge and Wisdom. Knowledge comes from learning things. This can be done through studying. The Bible says that, "Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days." (Job 12:12). Ecclesiastes is a study of Wisdom, from an old man with lots of experience. One does not have to be old to be wise though. Whoever does find wisdom is blessed by God:

Proverbs 3:13-15New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Blessed are those who find wisdom,

    those who gain understanding,

¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver

    and yields better returns than gold.

¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies;

    nothing you desire can compare with her.

More than all that, though, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge." (Proverbs 1:7). Once again it all goes back to God. Job 32:8 explains that God gives the spirit of understanding. knowledge comes from the Lord.


When God says he will give David anything he asks for, David asks for wisdom and receives it. Elijah also wants wisdom. He said to Elisha that he wants a double portion of his Spirit in 2 kings 2:9. This does not mean he is two times as wise, or powerful. The  inheritance law Dt. 21:17 stated that the oldest son get the double share from younger ones. This double portion he asked for was asking to make him the successor.



Lastly (and separately), here are some random quotes:

“To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.”
― Lao Tzu

"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."

"Knowledge is knowing what to say. Wisdom is knowing whether or not to say it."

Secondary Bible Themes 4 - The Heavenly Trial

Here is a list of themes in the Bible. One theme is the idea of wrath and judgment. Many times in the Bible a heavenly trial is mentioned. Trinity Sunday show how the trinity is involved in this trial.

Divine Judgment is a concept in essentially every religion. It normally consists of a powerful and knowledgeable entity making a judgment on the moral worth of the acts of free creatures according to some divine or natural law.  This entity then makes a verdict and there is an execution of sentence through punishment or reward. Sometimes these punishments and rewards are during the individual’s life (for example Karma) and sometimes they are in the afterlife (heaven, hell, reincarnation, etc…).

God has been seen as and called THE judge throughout the Bible, even from the very beginning (Genesis 18:25; Psalm 35:24; 96:10,13; 98:9; John 8:50; Hebrews 12:23). Specifically the person of God the Father (1 Peter 1:17) is the judge.

In the beginning, God gave the law to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. After the fall God judged the whole human race guilty [Genesis 3]. Sickness, hardship, and death were the consequences. After the fall there continued to be specific judgments against the world [such as the flood (Genesis 6:5) and the Tower of Babel ()], a group of people [such as Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 28:20) and the Plagues of Egypt (Exodus 6:6, 12:12)], and individuals [such as Core (Numbers 16) and Lot’s wife (Genesis 19:26)].

After the institution of the Israelites as God’s people, God instituted the law through Moses because he wanted people to follow it. There is a punishment for not following the law. God also instituted judges and governments for the punishments in this life. Actual sins have consequences. Additionally, being totally depraved due to original sin we cannot follow the law. God’s judgment that the whole race is guilty still stands as do the consequences, namely physical death.

At the end of the world, there will be a final judgment at the end times (general eschatology). This is mentioned in at least Joel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Malachi, John, Romans, Acts, and Revelation. There is also a judgment of each individual at death. This is the heavenly trial.

If the Father is the judge, then the Son is our divine defense attorney. It is clear that Christ came not to judge, but to save us from the judgment (John 3:17, 8:15, 12:47). Another name for the Son of God is, “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6), which is also what a lawyer is called. Furthermore, The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father (1 John 2) and the mediator between us (1 Timothy 2:5).

The Holy Spirit then is our witness. Romans 8:16 states this explicitly when saying that He testifies for us.

Satan is the “accuser” (Zechariah 3, Job 2, Revelation 12:10), or the prosecuting attorney. Although we don’t really need a prosecuting attorney, because we are clearly guilty and the judge is all-knowing. Satan has evidence and witnesses abounding enough to destroy you under the weight of your sin, being exposed.

The good news is our defense attorney has taken our guilt and punishment (Isaiah 53), so the judge declares us not guilty (Romans 4). We are acquitted because Jesus has already been found guilty, sentenced, and executed. Therefore, our judgment is not based on our moral worth or our guilt or innocents! “The accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the lamb.” Therefore, Jesus can “present us faultless” before God (Jude 1:13).

The devil is persistent though and will hound us and try to get us to fire our defense attorney and represent ourselves. If we do this, then we try to list the good things we have done. This mistake of works-righteousness can get us in one of two ways. First if we focus on our guilt, we can come to despair and plead guilty. Second, we can become defensive and self-righteous enough to fight the charges on our own, to our inevitable loss (Ephesians 2:8-9, Isaiah 64:6). This is us wanted to say that we have already worked off our debt. This is essentially saying we had self-imposed community service, so we should not get the death penalty, which is a ridiculous argument. However, if we stand firm in Jesus, then the trial is already finished (John 19:30) and there is no double jeopardy (John 10:28).

Secondary Bible Themes 3 - Water, Sea, Ocean, Wash

Here is a list of themes in the Bible. Water in general and washing in particular plays a large thematic role in the Bible.  In fact it is mentioned with meaning from the very beginning of the Bible to the very end. When it is mentioned, water brings both destruction/death and new creation/life. On the second day of creation, right after light, God made and separated the waters of the earth. These waters were then filled with life to sustain on the fifth day. The rivers in the Garden of Eden were specifically mentioned as well and brought life to both the plants and animals (including people).



However, shortly after that God destroys the whole world and most of the population in a great flood in Genesis 6. 1 Peter 3:20-22 explains how this foreshadowed baptism. Likewise, the Egyptians chasing the Israelites slaves whom Moses Led, were drowned in the Sea in Exodus 14. As the Israelites became a people, God in instituted many ritual washings (Numbers 19). 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 explains how their wanderings in the desert foreshadowed baptism as well. Water and the word, 7 times is referring to the Holy Spirit. Namaan was washed clean of his sin and believed as did the blind man that Jesus healed.

Judaism requires converts into Judaism to immerse themselves fully in water in a mikveh or body of "living water." It did not become customary, however, to immerse converts to Judaism until after the Babylonian Captivity. John describes this as a process of going from a Gentile to Jew ritual practice. In the New Testament, it brings unbelievers into the family of God and replaced circumcision. "The ancients talked of the baptized as fish. Water is the Word of God. Fish die out of water so believers die without the word." - Herald Senkbeil (Dying to Live).

Also, yes, baptism is a washing away of sins, but violently, not peacefully as we often think about it. Baptism is drown the Old Adam to death every single day (Romans 6).

Then there’s the story of Jonah. When this prophet fled from God by boarding a ship, “the LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up,” (Jonah 1:4).

The songs and narratives that shape the thought of the Israelites do not speak of the sea the same way we often do, as a place of tranquility, postcard sunsets, and soothing waves lapping the beach. For them, the waters of the sea are a place of danger, judgement, confusion, evil, death. The psalms liken the threats of the enemy to the “roaring of the seas and the roaring of their waves,” (65:2). In another psalm, the souls of mariners melt within them as they rise up on stormy waves to the heavens and go down to the depths, reeling and staggering like drunken men, until the Lord finally causes the storm to be still (107:23-32).

In the New Testament Jesus talks about himself as the living water, that we can drink and never be thirsty (John 7). He compares himself to a well of fresh water, not the salty sea that we can't drink. Reading further in the New Testament we find that the waves of the sea bring impending death (Matthew 8:23-27); the sea is the place into which the herd of swine plummet to their death when the demons enter them (Matthew 8:32); and “the roaring of the sea and the waves” one of the signs of the second coming of Christ (Luke 21:25).

Sometimes, it is that way with us. We talk about people having a storms in life, being thrown about, swept to and fro, buffeted by waves of woe. During difficult times in life it is as if we are sucked out to sea, blown this way and that way by troubles. Finally, when life is over we talk of sinking beneath the dark waters of death.

For the most part, the Sea is a symbol in the Bible of a world gone wrong. As I mentioned earlier, water brings both destruction/death and new creation/life. However, there will be no sea in New Creation, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea." Revelation 21:1. There will be no more destruction and no more need for new life. We will already have a new and eternal life. But what about now, before the new creation is realized. What comfort do we have in this life? 

Jesus was with His disciples in the boat when a great storm arose in the sea, covering the vessel with waves, so that these men thought they were perishing, but he calmed the storm and saved them. So He is with us, when we endure the storms of life and the waves of sorrow. He is not a God who stands on the shoreline shouting instructions. He is the Savior who never leaves our side, for He has washed you into His open side by the waters of a new creation. He doesn’t tell you what to do, He says, “It is done. It is finished.” Yes, there will be many times when you doubt it; when, like the disciples, you will be of little faith (Matthew 8:26). But even when you are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). When the time is right, He will rebuke the winds and the waves, and there will be a great calm.

There will be no sea in the new creation. Amen to that good news. But even better news is that, even while we endure storms at sea in this old creation, the God who baptizes us also abides with us in these tumultuous waters, holds us up, and will never leave us nor forsake us, for we are dearer to Him than life itself.

Secondary Bible Themes 2 - Soul, Mouth, Eat

Here is a list of themes in the Bible. The Bible has a thematic connection between eating with the mouth and the soul.

"A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth; But the soul of the treacherous'shall eat violence." -Proverbs 13:2

"It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” -Matthew 15:11

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." - Romans 10:8-10


In the early church, there was a saying, "Semper in ore psalmus, semper in corde Christus", which translates to, "Always a Psalm on the lips, always Christ in the heart."


It is no wonder, then, when God wanted an earthly element for a sacrament, that he chose eating his body and his blood to forgive our sins and redeem our souls.

Secondary Bible Themes 1 - Father, Son, Husband, Brother, Wife, Woman, Daughter

Here is a list of themes in the Bible.

There is a large theme of family and family relationships in the Bible. First off is God Himself in His first two persons of the Father and the Son.

Next, God made people to live in Families. From Genesis 2:18-24, when God says "It is not good for man to be alone" onward, God emphasizes the importance of the family unit. To show its importance, it is reiterated in the Gospels (Matthew 19:5) and the Epistles (Ephesians 5:31).

Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

Ephesians 6:1-4 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”  Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

Our vocation as Christians are really about serving the people in our life. This is first and foremost our families.


First Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Third, God preserves his people, and brings redemption to the world through family lineage. The Old Testament is the history of this people and the lineage that led to Jesus. The New Testament begins with showing this lineage of Jesus.

Lastly, God's relationship with his people is familial. Christians have been adopted as sons. The Church is Christ's Bride, the Heavenly Father is our Father. St. Cyril of Alexandria said, "no one can have God as his father who does not have the Church as his mother."

(INSPIREd?) Apocrypha

I figured while I was analyzing the Bible, the Old Testament, and the New Testament with InSpire, I might as well do the Apocrypha too.  Although, technically, the "INSPIREd" pun doesn't work here, unfortunately. Oh well.

INSPIRE Analysis of the Apocrypha

First, I did just the Apocrypha by itself to see what it was about, and saw very similar things to the Old Testament, with the addition of some new people in the history of Israel. The Apocrypha really does serve to fill in the historical gap between the testaments.

INSPIRE Analysis of the Bible + Apocrypha

Next, I did the entire Bible, with the Apocrypha included (as it is intended). It does not really change the picture from what we saw with the Bible without the Apocrypha.